A Magical Girl's Worst Nightmare
by Villain84
Summary: Thanks to Madoka's sacrifice, magical girls no longer turn into witches once their soul gems turn dark. Homura, Kyoko, and Mami fight together to protect the world from wraiths. However, Kyubey desires a more efficient way to harvest energy than just from wraiths. He has a plan for harvesting magical girls, and he knows just the man for the job.
1. New Developments

Another wraith swung with his whip-like arm. Mami managed to cartwheel out of the way, narrowly dodging the blow. She regained her footing, aimed her rifle, and fired. The blast went straight through the monter's head, causing it to crumble like a depixilating video game villain.

Another one roared behind her. She spun on her heals, preparing to shoot this one, but before she could, the haggard figure split in half right down the middle.

"Watch your back!" Kyoko snapped as she got back to her feet.

"I was doing fine," Mami smiled back, playfully bickering with her.

"Yeah, sure you were," Kyoko laughed, flicking her wrist and impaling the wraith trying to sneak up on her.

Two more charged, but in a moment, as soon as they had sprung up, two shots hit them square between the eyes, and they collapsed, and Homura appeared.

And with that, the miasma faded, and the wraiths disintegrated into piles of grief cubes. The girls found themselves on the rooftop as normal once again.

"It looks like that's the last of them," Homura stated.

"Yep, another job well done," Mami nodded as she and Kyoko went around gathering the grief cubes.

Once they were done gathering the grief cubes, the girls all used them to purify their soul gems until they were clear as crystals. They still had plenty more left over for later as well.

"Seems like that's all of them for tonight," Mami said, looking out over the city once again. "I was thinking. Why don't we go see a late movie?"

"Sounds great!" Kyoko exclaimed. "You in, Homura?"

"Not tonight," Homura replied sullenly. "We have that one homework assignment due tomorrow, and I'm tired."

"Oh, alright," Kyoko replied. "Yeah, I guess I should get to that too." She was clearly disappointed.

"Alright, but then how about on Friday?" Mami suggested, a smile returning to her face. "We'll all finish off the wraiths as quick as we can, then all go to the movies together!"

Homura looked between the two hopeful faces awaiting her response. "Alright," She finally said in a huff. "I suppose it will be fun."

"Awesome!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"I'm looking forward to it," Mami smiled.

Before they could head out, Kyubey suddenly appeared from over the side of the building.

"Hello girls," He said warmly. "Any grief cubes for me tonight?"

"Yeah, we have some," Homura said. The three girls each scooped up their used grief cubes and tossed them at the little white beast. He spun and danced to catch them all in the pouch on his back.

"Thank you," He said. "It seems then that everything went well tonight?"

"Yeah, the usual," Kyoko shrugged. "Nothing special."

"Good to hear," Kyubey replied, wiggling his ears. "Well then, if you'll excuse me, I must be off. I have a very important business meeting with the other incubators tonight." With that, the creature turned and leapt off the building.

"You guys ever get the feeling that that guy is out to get us?" Kyoko asked, scratching her head.

"He is," Homura stated simply. She decided not to completely spill the beans.

"Yes I'll admit, Mami replied, a little sadness in her tone. "After everything that's happened, I do have reason to suspect him. I try to be optimistic about it though, and tell myself that he's doing his best to guide us and do his job at protecting humanity from the evils that manifest into wraiths."

* * *

Kyubey stood in a large auditorium, surrounded by other incubators, facing a tall desk. Upon this floating pedestal sat five more incubators clad in ornate jewelry, the council.

Kyubey held a pointing stick in one "ribbon" on his head, pointing it at the holographic diagram beside him, projecting various figures and images to aid in his argument.

"So as you can see here," Kyubey continued, "The mental and emotional states of human adolescent girls fluctuates in almost volatile patters. Not only that, but by fighting wraiths, facing such negative emotion, and by using their energy, they only come to bear more negative emotion, and therefore more energy. Therefore, one magical girl has more energy potential than any any wraith, which is merely a collection of the negative emotions in the general area, and therefore a more potent source.

"In conclusion, if we could harvest magical girls for their energy, our efforts would be trippled in production and efficiency, and we would meet our quota that much sooner."

His argument done, the holographic diagram disappeared. Already the conference room was a booming with gossip and chatter as incubators in the stands discussed their individual views on the proposal.

The council glanced between each other, their faces as unmoving as the rest of their race, waiting for someone to speak.

"Kyubey, you do provide a very strong argument," the grand high incubator finally spoke. Once he started, a blanket of silence fell over the stands. "However, there are a few loopholes in your suggestion. First, you suggest that we overturn the Subjects' Rights Act, and disregard all feels the humans may have with being treated in such a way."

"As I have said before," Kyubey replied. "Times have changed. The demand for energy for holding back entropy has increased, and such cases of moral cannot be afforded to be taken into account. Many cultures we have seen over the years have abandoned religion in times of economic evolution, so why should we not do the same."

"I agree with Kyubey's argument," announced another incubator from the stands.

"As do I," added another. "I believe our needs and our duties outweigh theirs."

"I support this as well," exclaimed another incubator, Antsubey. "I grow tire of these humans anyhow. They treat their animals as livestock, why should we not do the same to the fullest extent we can?"

"I disagree," shouted another one. This was a voice Kyubey recognized, Obey, a member of the Council of Agreement. He was one of the incubators with a stronger preference to morale and values and considered the feelings of the subjects. Kyubey did not like him.

A few more started gossiping about agreeing until the Grand High Incubator spoke again. "We will take a vote. Those in favor of overturning the Subjects' Rights Act in regards to humans?"

The Incubators in favor each flashed a light from their heads. The number with lights far outweighed the number that did not light up.

"Very well then, motion carried," The Grand High Incubator stated. "However, the other issue to be aware of is that The Law of Cycles causes the soul of all magical girls to disappear once their soul becomes clouded with negative emotions. As far as we know, it is impossible to harvest the soul of a magical girl at the right moment because of this."

"But suppose there was such a way," asked another incubator from the stands. "I do not think that Kyubey would take the time or effort or research to make such a proposal if it were impossible to harvest magical girls." This was Ruubey, an incubator with ideals more similar to Kyubey.

"Indeed," Kyubey added. "I do believe it is possible."

"Indeed," said the Grand High Incubator musingly. After another moment of silence, and the high council exchanging glances, the Grand High Incubator spoke again. "Very well Kyubey. The council accepts your proposal. If you can come up with a method for harvesting energy from magical girls without the Law of Cycles interfering, we will accept it."

"Excellent," Kyubey nodded.

"However, I repeat that finding such a method is entirely up to you, and you alone."

"Not to worry," Kyubey replied. "I have done research on that as well, and I believe I know just the man for the job."

* * *

Later, Kyubey was in his own private realm, a large glass room of colors constantly shifting back and forth like an ocean. With a flick and a twist of his ribbons, he crocked them into an "L" position. This was a communication method that incubators used to contact other incubators from a long distance. It was similar to the cell phones that humans had.

After a moment of waiting, he got the response he wanted.

"Huh? What? Hello?" A voice replied. It was the Eastern United States Incubator, Doobey. "Who is it?"

"Doobey, it's me, Kyubey," Kyubey replied.

"KYUBEY!" Doobey nearly screamed on the other end. "Hey buddy! It's great to hear from you again! I haven't talked to you since... uh... when was it? Anyway, how are things?"

"Doobey, are you using human recreational drugs again?" Kyubey asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"...uh... no? I don't think-"

"It does not matter. I have a task for you."

"Yeah? Sure. Anything bro."

"Doobey, who are you talking to?" asked a new voice at the other end. Obviously female. It must have been one of Doobey's clients.

"Oh, hey Penny. Hey I told you about my friend Kyubey, right? Well he's on the phone right now, wanna say hi?"

"Nah, that's okay, I'm talking over here. Just tell him I said hi."

"Okay. So Kyubey, Penny here says... uh, what did you want me to tell him again?"

Kyubey put a paw to his face and sighed.

"Okay, yeah, Penny said hi."

"Doobey, listen to me," Kyubey said, a little more sternly now. "I need you to go to Springwood Ohio, and enter the dreams of someone who is asleep there. Are you following me so far?"

"Ohio... Springwood... Dreams... what's this about anyway?"

"We've decided to harvest magical girls for energy."

"Woah woah woah! Wait, what?"

"It seems you've missed the conference," Kyubey huffed. "Not all that surprising to me."

"Dude, we can't do that. That's horrible! Wasn't there like an act for that, and some protesting. I think I was there."

Kyubey groaned. He had forgotten that Doobey was one of the incubators that considered the morale and values of subjects. And courtesy of the drugs he had been taking, he had become more attached to emotions, which heightened his attachment to clients and his consideration of their feelings.

"It seems you are incapable of this task," Kyubey sighed. "Nevermind then. I will come over there and deal with it myself."

"Oh okay then," Doobey replied. "Well stop by my place some time so we can smoke some stuff. "Penny's friend got this stash of weed the other day. You'll LOVE it! I know I do!"

"So you admit that you are using human drugs?"

"I'm using drugs? Who told you! It was Antsubey! Wasn't it? She's such a snitch! And a buzzkill, and a bitch."

"Goodbye Doobey." Kyubey straightened out his ears, hanging up.


	2. Enter: Freddy Krueger

Laura, all dressed in her costume, waited behind the curtain for her cue. It was almost time for her entrance.

Her school was doing a production of_ The Snow Queen,_ and she was playing Queen Elsa. It was finally opening night, and nearly the entire town had shown up. She had been rehearsing for this for weeks, and so had all of her friends. The sets and costumes were perfect, and the orchestra had perfected their score so that not a single note would be out of place.

Laura, holding her breath, felt that at any moment, she would explode. Waiting for her entrance was like watching the clock on a bomb count down.

Princess Anna and Prince Hans were in the middle of the ballroom. They had just finished number, and discussing possible marriage.

"Come on!" Anna exclaimed, pulling on Hans' hand. "We HAVE to tell Elsa! She'll be thrilled!"

This was it. Taking one final breath, Laura stepped out from the curtain and into the spotlight. She stood before the crowd of dancers as Anna and Hans approached her, Anna holding on to Hans' arm.

"Elsa!" Anna exclaimed happily. "I have some wonderful news!"

"Yes, what is it?" Laura asked, smiling.

"This is Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. And we are getting married!"

Laura was about to speak, but then suddenly... she hesitated. She... her line... she could not picture it. She could not remember. What was she suppose to say?

"I... Um... uh..." she continued to mumble and stutter.

All the extras on stage suddenly stopped their idle standing and slow dancing and looked at Laura. Anna and Hans suddenly dropped their happy expressions and looked worried.

_What was it?_ Laura tried to remember what the script said. She had read it so many times. All she could see when she imagined the line though was a blur.

"Um... I think that..." She glanced off at the audience. The audience started murmuring and gossiping among herself. A few started giggling. She was so horrified by the big picture that she did not notice the shady man in the back of the theatre in a fedora hat, with his face hidden by a program.

A few more people in the audience started to laugh harder. Some start to boo. Some started shouting curses. Laura saw her parents in the front row. Her mother was shaking her head, and her father glaring at her in disappointment.

Her classmates on stage all glared at her for making them all look like fools.

Laura covered her head and started crying, hoping that all of it would go away, that she would just disappear. She could still hear their laughter and curses, ringing in her head as though someone placed a radio in there and turned up the volume to maximum.

"Come on people," shouted a deep, gruff, raspy voice. "I know it's terrible, but they're just kids." It almost sounded like the voice of a bear.

Still, the laughter continued, Laura was openly crying now. She opened her eyes again. The people started taking out tomatoes now.

"Eh, you're right. It's terrible," the gruff voice said again. "Get off the stage!"

Tomatoes went flying. Within seconds, her beautiful dress, face, and hair was splattered and covered in cold red liquid. Her friends were bombarded as well. All their sets and dresses that their entire class had worked so hard to perfect, ruined so suddenly.

Laura finally could not take it any more, and ran out off the stage, crying. She ran through the door, down the hallway towards the bathroom, hoping to be alone.

She swung the door open and charged in, but instead of finding the girl's restroom, she found herself inside a boiler room, bathed in a reddish light. She looked around at all the dirty brass pipes and heard an eerie hissing sound.

She turned to leave, but the door had disappeared, leaving only a solid concrete wall.

It was then that she realized she was dreaming. She turned around and-

"BOO!"

"AAAHHH!" Laura screamed, and backed up agains the wall. Still panting, she turned to look at the figure facing her. She was being faced by a man slightly taller than her. He wore jeans and a red and green stripped sweater. He wore a fedora atop his head. His two hands, she saw, were adorned with gloves with knives for fingers, which sung like a sword being drawn from its sheath when they moved.

he stepped closer. When she got a good look at his face, she saw burns and scars all over him.

"Sorry the play didn't go so well," the man said. He spoke in the same bear voice she had heard before. He stepped closer, and raised one of his knife-fingered hands. "Don't worry though. It will all be over soon."

"Who are you?" Laura asked. "What do you want?"

The man said nothing, but started laughing maniacally as he came closer, hand still raised. He was in her personal space now. She could feel his breath.

That was close enough.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" Laura screamed. She grabbed the mans shoulders before he could act, and brought him down to her knee. He grunted as the blow forced him to back away.

Laura then shoved him hard in the chest, throwing him off his feet and to the ground, with another grunt. While he started getting to his feet, she took off and ran down the hall of the boiler room, each step making a clang an echo as they hit the concrete floor.

"Ugh! You cunt!" The man shouted behind her.

There was a hiss as one pipe burst and a cloud of steam rose behind her. She looked around desperately for a door, but she could find none. She found her way up a flight of metal stairs though onto a railing.

"Run run run, as fast as you can," The man's voice giggled. "You can't escape me, I'm the Krueger man!" She had no idea where his voice was coming from.

Suddenly, a chain hanging from the ceiling lashed down with the speed and ferocity of a snake, and grabbed her around the chest. The chain spun around her as she screamed helplessly. The freezing steel tied around her waist, and bound her arms to her side. She screamed and thrashed but it was no use.

She dangled helplessly from right before the catwalk as she heard more footsteps. She turned her head to see the wretched man approaching her, chuckling maniacally. He came to a stop once he was standing right before her, and then stopped laughing.

"Kids today," he smirked. "So desensitized by smart phones and the internet."

He laughed some more as he reached out to her with his clawed hand. The chain, to add to her horror, seemed to lift her closer to him. She screamed in terror, and cried for help.

His knife finger tip was inches from her cheek.

"Mr. Krueger," a new voice suddenly spoke. "I'd like to talk to you if you have a few minutes." This new voice was gentle and cheerful, and somewhat squeaky.

Both the man, Mr. Krueger, and Laura both paused. Laura looked over Krueger's shoulder while he turned around. They both saw, standing on the railing, was a white cat-like creature with large ribbons hanging from his hears, and large red eyes.

"Um... who the Hell are you?" Krueger asked, clearly confused.

"My name is Kyubey," replied the cat. "I am an incubator and I have a request to ask of you. A business proposal, if you will."

Still plainly confused, Krueger turned back to Laura. "Do you know this guy? Did you imagine him?"

Laura shook her head.

Krueger turned back to Kyubey. "Are you with the dream demons?"

"No, I am not affiliated with them in any way."

"Well then look buddy, I don't know who you are or what you want, but whatever it is, it's not my problem. Now beat it. I'm busy here. Or I'm coming after you next." He prepared to strike Laura, but Kyubey spoke again.

"I implore that you hear me out. I have an offer for you that I truly believe you would be interested in."

Krueger paused for another moment, and lowered his arms. He crossed his arms one moment, then rested his arm on the railing, and tapped it with his finger, emitting a hollow clanging sound.

Kyubey watched him with an unmoving face. Laura watched him, still horrified, anxious for him to make his decision.

At last, Krueger raised his hand at the chains, open palm facing outward, and the chains disappeared. Laura screamed as she plummeted to the ground. She hit the hard concrete floor with a plop.

She groaned as she got to her feet. She was not injured though.

"Go on!" Krueger shouted down after her. "Get out of here! Git! Before I change my mind."

Nothing more was needed. Laura took off down the boiler room hallway and out of Krueger's site. With a growl, he turned back to Kyubey.

"Alright fine. What do you want? This had better be worth my time." He was furious, already regretting letting his plaything escape.

"Oh, I can assure you, it will be worth every second of your time," Kyubey replied. "May we discuss this in a more private area? Not in the mind of this girl? Follow me." Kyubey turned on the railing and walked down. Krueger followed.

After a few steps a whole of blinding light suddenly appeared in the middle of the walkway. Krueger had to cover his eyes momentarily. It was like staring into the door to the sun.

"My apologies for the brightness," Kyubey stated. "Just step in and your eyes will readjust."

"Where does it lead?" Krueger asked as he lowered his hand. "Just what the Hell are you?"

"Don't worry. I'll explain everything once we are inside. Also, may I call you Freddy?"

"Sure," Krueger shrugged. "Haven't been called Mr. Krueger in a long time though. Nice to feel a little respect."

Kyubey scurried through the worm hole, and after a moment of hesitation, Freddy followed.

**Author's Note: This is an idea that's been burning in my head for a long time. I just had to start on it. Glad I finally got to it. **


	3. The Deal

Freddy continued to walk straight, still squinting agains the light and shielding his face with one hand. He could not even see Kyubey anymore. He could only walk straight and hope that was the direction Kyubey was going in.

Finally, after a few seconds, the light began to dim, as if someone were pushing a light switch. Finally, Freddy was able to open his eyes more and let his arm fall. His eyes widened at his view.

"I trust this is more suited to your vision?" Kyubey asked.

"Yeah," Freddy replied. He was looking around the room they were in, if it could even be called a room. They seemed to be walking through a massive opal-colored cloud. Against a reddish hue, colors shone and shimmered like an ocean. Although it felt like they were walking on a solid surface, Freddy saw no floor, or walls or ceiling. In all of his years, all the myriad dreams he had visited, few could compare to this.

"Where are we?" He asked finally. "Are we still in the dream realm?"

"No," Kyubey replied. "We are in what you may refer to as one of the Quasi-Physical rooms of the Incubators' realm, where the line between several plains of existence are blurred."

While Freddy tried to wrap his head around this information, he looked up again at the "ceiling." The shimmering glass above seemed to be so high up, like the ceiling of a grand ballroom.

"You.. gotta say, you've certainly got a good taste in interior design," Freddy said, trying to make a joke.

"The room can be whatever I wish for it to be," Kyubey said as though it were the most normal thing in the world. "If I so choose, I can turn the room into a grassland, or an ocean, or a pyramid, or an apocalyptic wasteland. This is just the default setting, you could say. Whatever I wish for will appear as well."

"So it is sort of like the dream realm in a way then, if you can warp reality at your will here."

"It is not all that impressive. Nearly every room in the Incubators' realm is like that, able to alter to our will. The only difference about this room is that since you cannot enter the physical world, it is one of the only rooms in which I can speak with you."

"Ah, I see," Freddy nodded.

Finally, Kyubey came to a stop and turned around to face Freddy.

"We can talk here." A cylindrical pillar of the smoothest glass suddenly rose under Kyubey's feet until he was at eye-level with Freddy. "Would you care to sit down?" Freddy looked behind him as a wider cylinder suddenly rose right behind him.

No questions asked, Freddy sat right down on the cylinder.

"Can I get you something to drink perhaps?"

"Uh... got any coffee?" Freddy asked with a shrug.

Right before them, a kettle and a mug suddenly appeared out of thin air. Levitating on its own, the kettle poured its steaming hot juice into the mug. Steam rose as the burning liquid swirled in the mug.

Once it was nearly full, the kettle vanished as quickly as it had come, and the mug floated its way into Freddy's hands. It was hot to the touch, but it did not bother Freddy.

He already new what was happening. Offering a seat and refreshments was a common tactic of any salesman. Freddy didn't like that such a cheap trick was being used on him, even if he did like coffee.

"Alright, you got me here," Freddy growled. "Now what's all this about?"

"Straight to the point I see," Kyubey said, no indication of surprise. "Are you familiar at all with Incubators, Mr. Krueger?"

"Until now, no." Freddy sipped his coffee. It was quite tastey in his mouth, someone bitter, somewhat sweet, and not so hot that it burned his mouth. He had a feeling this coffee was designed somehow to fit his taste the way he liked it.

"I see. Well then, are you familiar with magical girls?"

Freddy raised an eyebrow, staring back at the cat as though he had eaten the most disgusting thing.

"Uhh... no?"

"How about wraiths?"

Freddy thought for a second, resting his chin on his knuckles a moment. "Actually, yeah, I think I do know wraiths. I think the dream demons might have brought them up once or twice in a conversation. They didn't really say that much about them though, other than they are related to the dream demons somehow."

"Well, I'll have you know that the dream demons are actually a special kind of wraith, and both were created by incubators."

Freddy's eyes widened momentarily. "What?" He had not expected to hear that. The dream demons, some of the most evil, most foul beings he had known in the entire universe, created by this adorable kitten?

"The dream demons are actually the result of an experiment my people performed some time ago," Kyubey explained. "But that is not important. It does not pertain to the reason I sought you out for. If you so desire, I will tell you about it another day."

Freddy still wanted to hear this dream demon story, but since the cat so insisted on the matter of business, which he himself still wanted to hear about, he decided to drop the former story for the time being. He took another sip of his coffee.

"Alright, so what DID you seek me for then?"

"Let me start at the beginning," Kyubey began. Before he started, his eyes flashed a bright read, and two ghostly rights suddenly blasted from them, spinning and shifting colors like a bizarre light show.

The rings encircled Freddy's face. In a seizure-inducing flash of light, Freddy suddenly found himself faced by several new images, people interacting with creatures just like Kyubey, all from different time periods. There were images of suffering, of happiness, of hard work, of battles, of victory, of death, of sorrow, of loss. Freddy started to wonder if he was high. Still, he found himself enthralled by the artistic images. Some felt like paintings, some like photographs, some like films from the 20s.

"You see Mr. Krueger," Kyubey's voice said suddenly. "Incubators are a highly-advanced race of incredible power. It is our duty to manage all of the energy in the universe so that entropy does not overtake the universe and cause it to fall apart. Supposedly, you could say that we are like the boiler-men of the universe."

"Trying to appeal to my knowledge, eh?" Freddy chuckled.

"We've traveled all across the universe, searching for new civilizations and locations that we can collect such energy from, and one of those civilizations happens to be you and your humans. Millions of years ago, during the early days of your civilization, we came and established a system with you. We created the wraiths, monstrous beings that feed on the negative emotions of mankind, and convert them into energy. You could say that wraiths are somewhat like fishing nets for energy, in a sense. But that is only part of the process. These monsters set about and consume humans to gain more energy once they are strong enough. So, in order too-"

"Hey, wait, hold on a second," Freddy said, waving one hand. "I gotta ask."

The slideshow suddenly stopped, as though someone had pushed the "pause" button on the DVD player. It stopped on the image of a wraith enveloping its cloak over a horrified-looking man, Victorian London in the background.

"Yes?" Kyubey asked.

"Should I be taking notes? Is there going to be a quiz on this later?"

"No."

"Oh, okay. Keep going."

That being said, the slideshow continued, as did Kyubey's lecture.

"To fight the wraiths and harvest that energy, the incubators need to enlist magical girls. We manage to get the interest of human adolescent girls by offering to grant them a wish, which does take some of our energy, unfortunately. We can still use some of the energy within their own soul, but still. Anyway, once their wish is granted, we remove their soul from their body and place it in a glass shell, known as their soul gem. This makes them more suitable for fighting wraiths. We also give them a neat costume, weapons and magical powers for them to use.

"So under the guidance of an incubator host, the magical girls travel around their area, hunting wraiths, defending their people and the like. When they kill a wraith, the wraith drops a solid form of negative emotion, known as grief cubes. By fighting, using their magical energy, and being exposed to such negative emotion, the magical girls' soul gem becomes tainted, but they can use the grief cubes to cleanse them. Once a grief cube is fully blackened and unable to cleanse the soul gem anymore, we incubators take them and use all the energy they have stored.

"Some of this energy is also used to evolve the intelligence and society of your race. To sum it all up, we get our energy, magical girls get their wishes granted and protect their mortal people, and all humans receive advantages from evolution. Everybody wins!"

Freddy put a hand to his head, which was now aching from the overflowing information. It seemed his brain was throbbing, beating as loud as a living heart in panic.

"Wow!" He whispered. "Oh my God. So... we've had aliens among us all this time... and we never knew. And these magical girls... and... just... shit! And I mean... you've all done this much for us..."

"Many other people, namely magical girls, are also shocked as you are when they learn the truth. This is a normal reaction you are having now."

Freddy tapped his chin looking over the images another minute, letting it all sink in. "Hm... alright, okay, go on..."

"Getting back to soul gems," Kyubey continued, "if a magical girl's soul gem becomes completely drained and blackened, a certain phenomenon occurs. We call this phenomenon the Law of Cycles. When the soul gem is completely blackened something causes it the suddenly be cleansed, and then disappear, and then the girl herself disappears. No trace, no idea where she goes no, no explanation except that Law."

"Okay, good, good..."

"Lately, however, I have been doing research. Due to your profession, I am sure you are already aware of the energy that a human soul can provide, especially given this information. And the emotional state of adolescent girls fluctuates so much, it's practically volatile, which means their souls are very rich in energy, and would make a very reliable source."

"Well, if that's true," Freddy interrupted, "and you guys are so almighty, why don't you just like send out flying saucers and shit and abduct humans to harvest them more directly?"

"We're not that barbaric and uncivilized, Mr. Krueger," Kyubey replied, a little sternness in his voice. "We have standards, and laws, that prevent such actions. We operate using peaceful, diplomatic tactics, and give girls a choice and all the information they need. And similarly to a trade, and unlike a war, we do offer some benefits to the civilization that we are harvesting energy from."

"You create monsters that feed off hate and kill people. That doesn't sound very diplomatic peaceful to me. Not sure our races even have the same definition of peaceful."

"Acceptable losses. Like any foundation, we have to have something to build off of. Besides, like I said, it is better this way because if we used your method, our species would be at war. And take my word for it, Mr. Krueger: If we go to war, you will loose."

Freddy paused as those last words hit him. Kyubey's voice was filled with such assurance, such confidence. Indeed, he already figured that if humanity went to war with these beings, if they were all as powerful as Kyubey, they undoubtedly will be slaughtered. Still, he had to think of a comeback, some way to show he was not afraid. And then, another thing hit him, something he still did not understand.

"If that's true, then why haven't you wiped us all out already and harvested us? I mean if you could start a breeding house and slaughterhouse for humans. What's stopping ya?"

He heard Kyubey huff before answering. "As I said before, we have laws and standards. Treating a race in such a way is our equivalent to terrorism or murder for you. And those are considered crimes; taboo, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"Anyway, we're getting off track here." The slideshow continued. "As I was saying, it has become our new goal to find a way to harvest the energy within a corrupted magical girl's soul. However, it is currently out of our capabilities because when a magical girl's soul gem is 'ripe' -for lack of a better term- the Law of Cycles intervenes. That is where you come in, Mr. Krueger."

And finally, the slideshow vanished, and in the blink of an eye, Freddy suddenly found himself in the glorious quasi-physical room. He was still sitting on his stool, and Kyubey on his own, right before him at eye level. It was as though neither of them have moved that entire show.

"I want you to enter the dreams of magical girls," Kyubey continued. "Torment them anyway you can. Do what you do best and love so much. Make them wish they were dead. Bring them to the brink of despair, blacken their soul gems. And then, once they reach that razor's edge, harvest their delicious souls for me!"

A sadistic grin spread across Freddy's face as the request sunk in.

"Oh, that is despicable... I love it!"

"I take it then you are interested?"

Freddy turned away from Kyubey for a moment, eyes scanning the room as he thought about the request. Finally, he turned back and shrugged.

"How would I harvest their souls?" He asked.

The two arm-like ribbons on Kyubey's head suddenly reached out before him, as if reaching for Freddy. In between them, a bright light suddenly shone, as suddenly and as blindingly bright as the room when Freddy first stepped in. He squinted again as the light slowly faded. In it's place, hovering between Kyubey's ribbons, was what looked like a large round, silver pocket watch. It was strung on a silver chain, and engraved on one side was a red zero, the same one as on Kyubey's back.

"Once you corrode the soul enough, open this locket, and the soul will be trapped inside," Kyubey explained. "Then come back here, and open it for me. And don't worry about finding your way back here. You'll know how to do it. I should also probably mention that since the girls' souls are in their soul gems, rather than their bodies, the dreams will also be in their soul gems, rather than minds."

Freddy lifted his hand about to take the locket, but then hesitated, and pulled his hand back.

"What's in this for me?" He asked. "I mean I'm all for tormenting kids, even middle schoolers, but that's something I can do on my own. There's gotta be something more you can offer me."

"It is my understanding that your power derives on the people's fear of you. And under normal circumstances, you can only enter the dreams of people who know about you. Correct?"

"Yeah..."

"The dreams of people who _fear_ you, like a kind of Boogeyman, correct?"

Freddy grumbled and shot Kyubey a glare at that comment. "A little condescending when you put it like that, but yeah, you get the idea."

"Well, I can make it so that you can enter the dreams of magical girls, whether they've heard of you or not."

Freddy's eyes widened at the sound of that.

"Also, magical girls exist in all countries all over the world, as you learned from the slide show. So you would be killing girls all over the world. Plus, once news spreads of these girls being found dead in their beds, their mortal friends and families will soon learn of you as well, and so you'll be able to enter their dreams as well. Then more and more will hear of it, until eventually, perhaps the entire world will know your name! Every living human will be afraid to sleep! The world will be your oyster, as the saying goes! You'll be free to play with anybody you please! You'll truly become, for lack of a better term, a world-famous nightmare.

"And from what I understand, you can learn the language of anybody who's dreams you enter, so there is no need to worry about the language barrier, correct?"

Freddy's eyes just got wider and wider, as did a fiendish grin on his face. And once Kyubey was done speaking, Freddy was left to imagine just what all this would mean for him. And he was loving it! So many children. So many victims. So many nightmares. It would be spectacular!

Unable to keep his excitement to himself, Freddy suddenly chuckling, before bursting out roaring with wicked laughter. In a fit of glee, he leapt up from his seat.

"Kyubey, my friend," He hollered, "I'm in! You got yourself a deal!" He swiped the locket from Kyubey's grasp, and strung the chain between his knife fingers in one hand like a game of cat's cradle.

"Excellent!" Kyubey shouted. He raised his ribbons one last time towards Freddy. A glow emanated from his chest. Freddy felt warm inside, and a slight push, as though someone were pushing hard against his chest.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Giving you the power to invade the dreams of magical girls," Kyubey replied.

After a moment, the glow faded, and Freddy felt the sensation fade with it. He flexed his arm and clenched his fist. He did not feel any different, let alone more powerful. Perhaps he was not suppose to feel that way, he figured.

"Go on then, Freddy!" Kyubey commanded. "Bring me plenty of souls! Unleash your new power!"

"You got it, chief!" Freddy shouted back. With one final burst of sadistic laughter, he turned and headed towards the way he came in. Thanks to Kyubey's spell, he knew what to do. With a swipe of his clawed hand, he slashed a tear in the fabric of the room's reality. Sure enough, he stepped through and wound up in the familiar warmth of his boiler room.

"Remember," Kyubey called after him, "Don't kill them! Just hurt them until they fall into despair, and then open the locket!"

"Yeah, yeah! Don't worry! I got it!"

_Look out girls,_ he thought, _Freddy's coming for ya!_


	4. First Victim

Two magical girls, Penny and Jessica, sat together on a bench in the park that calm, moonlit night. The maisma had finally cleared, and all was peaceful in Fairfield County. Not a single person aside from the two girls were to be seen, and all that could be heard was the incessant chirping of crickets.

In between the two girls were their soul gems, one orange and one blue, both being cleared by the ten grief cubes they had laid down to perform the clearance spell. Jessica wore a golden breastplate and a white skin-tight outfit and a cape while Penny wore an outfit of darker colors with a hood and cape reminiscent of Batman.

Their incubator host, Doobey lay down on the grass beside them gazing up at the stars, his fur ragged and poorly groomed, similar to that of a man who had not cut or combed his hair for months. He was missing the golden rings that most incubators had, and held a tired look in his eyes.

"You guys did a great job today," Doobey said, breaking the silence. "I... I really think you're improving."

"Thanks," Jessica replied. "We do what we can."

"You really did kick some butt today, Jess," Penny said. "I mean that one guy was coming up on me, and you sliced him right down the middle. Good job."

"Thanks," Jess said sweetly. "You were great too."

"Thanks."

"So, ready for that quiz tomorrow?"

"Ugh!" Penny groaned. "There's been so many wraiths the last few days. I haven't had time! And there's been other stuff like that journal stuff!"

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much," Jess shrugged. "I mean it's just on the Roman empire. You remember some of that stuff from the movie, right? Just give it your best shot."

"Yeah, okay. I'll try."

At that point, the last speck of darkness had been removed from their soul gems, leaving them clear and glowing.

"Alright, looks like we're good," Penny smiled.

"Great! Got any... um, really black ones?" Doobey asked, getting to his feet.

"Yeah, we got some," Jess replied. She and Penny both scooped up their fully-darkened grief cubes, and dumped them down Doobey's trap door back. He was not coordinated enough to catch thrown ones like most incubators were, and these two girls knew that.

Once they were all gone, his back closed and glowed.

"Awesome! Great supply of energy here!" Doobey cheered.

"So, that's it for tonight?" Penny asked.

"Uh-huh," Doobey responded. He briefly rubbed his paw with his chin. "Alright so... let me see... tomorrow is Melissa's day, so I'll head over to her place now."

"Okay, tell her we said 'hi!'" Jess said as she tenderly stratched the side of Doobey's head. He leaned into the gentle touch. Penny reached down to give his back a stroke as well.

"Yeah. You guys take care. I'll see you in a week. Collect plenty of more grief cubes for me!" When the stood up and their hands left him, he turned and started heading for the road.

"Are you sure you're okay to head there now on your own?" Penny called after him. "You still seem a little dazed."

"Nah, it's all good. I'll be fine." Doobey replied as he walked onto the pavement. "Don't you worry about-"

He did not get to finish his sentence before a car zoomed by and smashed his body, sending it flying.

Penny and Jessica just blinked before shrugging it off and turning back to each other.

"Alright, let's get home," Penny said, dissipating her magical girl suit in a flash of light. Jess did the same.

"Yeah. I'm ready for bed," Jess nodded.

They were unfazed by Doobey's "death." They knew about the incubators' immortality. This was not the first time they had seen Doobey "die." They knew he was fine.

The two friends headed home, ready to get some sleep.

* * *

Everyone in Penny's family was asleep, so she had no trouble as she slipped silently into her room. The only light to guide her in the darkness was from the moonlight streaming in from the window over her bed.

She gently placed her soul gem down on her desk, and slipped into bed under her covers. She bundled herself up like a caterpillar in a cocoon, and rested her head on the pillow.

She relaxed as best as she could after another long day. She stared up at the ceiling as she waited for sleep to overtake her. The ceiling had been decorated with stars that glowed in the dark to imitated a starry night sky. Eventually, her heavy eyelids slowly closed over her eyes. She finally let go and drifted off.

* * *

She was on her way to school the next day. The morning was bright and shiny as ever. She and Jess followed the bustling crowd off the bus and headed towards the front door, as were many other of the middle schoolers.

"I don't get it," Jess was whining, "why are are they called grapefruits? I mean they got nothing to do with grapes! And does French toast even come from France?"

"I don't know," Penny shrugged. "Maybe."

"Ugh, well the quiz is coming. Hope we're ready."

Penny suddenly felt a sense of dread overtake her as she remembered the quiz, more so than she had ever felt over such a trifle thing. She suddenly felt as though her entire future depended on her performance on this quiz.

Several more students flowed into the front doors as Penny and Jess got closer. Jess held the door open for Penny as the latter followed in.

"Thanks," Penny mumbled.

As she stepped into the hallway, she expected to see the usual dozens of kids her age crowding the halls, bustling up and down to their homerooms, or fidgeting at their lockers.

Instead, the entire hallway was empty. Not a single noise to be heard or soul to be found. It was the strangest sight for Penny.

She turned to face Jessica, only to find that her friend had simply disappeared. To make matters worse and weirder, the door they had just entered from had also disappeared. Now standing in its place was a brick wall, just like the rest of the hall.

Penny looked around. "Jess?" She called out. But she received no answer. She walked across the tiled floor, each step echoing in the desolate passage. She scanned up and down, ahead and behind and to the sides, searching for any sign of life, but she saw none.

She turned at one corner, and saw that down this new hall, the lights, rather than being their usual bright white, were a darker yellow, and flickered. It was somewhat scary-looking, but Penny was not too scared, so much as weirded out still. She continued down the passage.

Finally, she turned back, and saw standing there, at the other end of the hall, a man in a striped sweater and a hat, his arms crossed. She could not get a clear look at his face. She had a bad feeling about this man. Something about him seemed unfriendly.

She stopped walking and faced him.

"Hey there Penny," He said. "You're a bit early."

"W-what?" Penny was completely confused. "Who are you? What's going on? Where is everybody? How do you know my name?"

The man started chuckling. He unfolded his arms and took a step towards Penny. "You're a bit slow, aren't ya?" He smirked. By now, Penny could see the sharp knife-like fingers on his hands.

Penny figured this man intended to harm her. She braced herself in a fighting stance.

"Stay back!" She ordered. "I'm warning you! I know how to fight!"

The man showed no sign of slowing down. He only chuckled more and waved his knife-like fingers at his side.

She put on a determined face as she lifted her ring finger. Her soul gem glowed as she transformed into her Batman-esque magical girl suit once again, her soul gem resting on her belt buckle.

The man paused a moment when the transformation was done. "So, this is a magical girl, eh?" He said, putting a finger to his chin.

"You know about magical girls?" Penny asked, surprised. "How?"

This made the man grin again. "Wouldn't you like to know," he replied tauntingly.

Penny pulled out two batarangs from behind and flung them at the man. The soared towards him, slicing through the air in their swirling motions.

With one sharp swing, the man swung one clawed hand and swatted away the batarangs like flies. Unfazed, he continued to step towards her.

Gritting her teeth out of frustration, Penny started flinging a barrage of batarangs, flipping and dancing back as she flung them.

Each attack the man either deflected or dodged out of the way.

Finally, Penny flung an explosive batarang at the ground below the man. It detonated, sending smoke and rubble flying.

Penny did not stop there. Sharp blades sprung from the gauntlets on her forearms, and she leapt into the smoke, preparing to slice into the man's ribs, making a swiping motion as she flew through the smoke.

She came out on the other side in the clear, with no hit. She turned back to the smoke, waiting for it to evaporate.

The smoke began to clear, but she could feel that-

She swung her arm behind her, about to strike the man, but he caught her fist before the blades reached him, and pushed it back.

She threw another punch, but he blocked that as well. She kicked and elbowed and punched, barely any moves striking him.

Finally one kick drove home. He groaned and stumbled back. She kept up her assault. She swiped one bladed across his pecks, tearing his sweater and drawing blood.

He groaned and stumbled to the floor, clutching his chest.

She was about to kick him, but he caught her ankle. His grip was strong as a vice. With a sharp twist, he nearly tripped her. Suddenly he was on his feet. He kicked her in the torso, sending her flying back.

She waited to hit the wall, but instead, found searing pain as something sharp pierced her stomach. She yelped in pain and looked down to see four thin knives sticking through her torso, blood squirting from their holes.

She looked up again and found the stripped man had disappeared. But then she felt warm breath and heard a chuckle. She felt a rough chin rest on her shoulder. She was too stunned and in too much pain to strike him, or even move.

"If you're done with that," his voice whispered, "why don't we have some fun?" He suddenly broke into a demonic laughter.

* * *

Outside her dream, in the real world, Penny's body suddenly started receiving scratches all over her body, tearing up her clothes and cutting her flesh. Burns started appearing as well, sizzling and peeling back her skin. Tears started flowing from her eyes. Her eyes twitched but they would not open.

A gash suddenly appeared through her left arm. Blood gushed out as it suddenly fell off from her body. A massive hole then appeared through her her stomach. Blood started to pool out from her onto her bed, dripping onto the floor. A tiny stream of blood from her groin even started to drip, mixing with the blood from the rest of her.

On her desk, her blue soul gem started turning dark quickly, becoming clouded by a thick black shadow.

* * *

Back in the dream world, the school and the rest of the town had been demolished. So many people, men, women, children, and animals alike, all lay crushed by debris, burned by fires, and impaled through massive spikes.

The air was filled with Freddy's laughter and Penny's screams, as well as the residents of Penny's dream.

On one spike sticking out horizontally from one building, Penny herself had been impaled. She now dangled helplessly from her new perch a foot off the ground. Her arm had been sliced clean off, and blood was still gushing from her wound. The entirety of her body and clothes were covered in cuts, bruises, burns, and cum. Tears were flowing freely from her eyes.

Freddy stood before her laughing mockingly.

"Stop!" Penny pleaded. "No! No more! Please!" This was it. She could not take any more. She had even lost her will to struggle and scream after all this torture. She no longer cared if this man killed her. She just wanted it all to be over.

Freddy could tell all this by the tone of her voice and by the look in her eyes. She had had enough.

"Alright, if you say so," Freddy smirked. He reached into his pocket and took out the locket.

"Wh... what is that?" Penny asked.

Rather than answer, Freddy held out the locket before him and flipped it open. Immediately as it opened, as though Freddy had just switched on a vacuum, three black wisps of energy snaked out of Penny's mouth and eyes, getting sucked into the locket.

In after a moment of channeling, the last of the wisps popped out of Penny's head. The locket slammed shut, and Penny's body went limp and lifeless.

Freddy held the locket close to his face for a better look. Holding it in his palm, it registered with him that he was holding a child's soul.

"That was so much fun!" He chuckled. "And Kyubey's gonna be happy to see you!"

* * *

In the real world, Madoka knew that another magical girl was about to meet her end. One of her many ghosts flew towards Penny's house in a pink blur, unseen by any mortals.

She appeared right before the desk, and reached for the tainted soul gem with her white gloved hands.

Before she could command the despair to leave the gem, however, suddenly, the energy within the gem seemed to... for lack of a better term, implode upon itself. All of the color within the gem suddenly seemed to leave the gem, both soul and corrosion, as though being sucked into a black hole within the gem.

When it was done, the soul gem was void of all color. It was now as clear as a drinking glass.

Madoka was baffled. What was happening? What could possibly cause this to happen?

She turned back to the body on the bed, meeting the horrible sight of what damage had been done to Penny.

Madoka reached out her hand once again to touch the gem. Her finger brushed the side, and her mind was instantly flooded with images of a man in a striped sweater with knives for fingers doing the most horrible things to Penny.

Madoka pulled her hand away to clear her mind of the horrid images.

* * *

Freddy's claw cut a hole in the wall of the quasi-physical realm, opening up a tear he could step through. Once he was inside the familiar glimmering "room," he walked merrily around, twirling the locket in one hand, and humming "Singing in the Rain."

After a moment, he paused his merry tune and called out. "Kyubey! Hey! Where are you?"

"Ah, Freddy," Kyubey's voice replied. "Welcome back. I must say that was relatively quick, at least by human standards."

Freddy turned to face the white creature sitting on his glass-like post once again.

"Yep!" Freddy held up the locket in his fingers. "Got you a nice tasty soul right here!"

"Excellent! Go ahead and open it up." Kyubey turned and opened the trap door in his back.

Holding it out before him again, Freddy flipped it open. A torrent of dark energy sprang out of the locket and bolted towards Kyubey, as though the hole in his back were another vacuum.

When the last of the energy had been sucked into Kyubey's back, both his back and the locket closed up, and Kyubey flipped around to face Freddy again.

"That tormented soul held an incredible supply of energy!" Kyubey exclaimed. "It is just as I hypothesized. You've done us a great service so far, Freddy. Indeed this proves my theory to the other Incubators. Your first harvest was indeed a success."

"Well I'm more than happy to go out and kill for you again!"

"I am happy to hear that. I do believe now more than before we can both benefit from this. And don't forget that you can use your power to invade the dreams of those outside the United States as well."

"Oh, don't worry. I haven't forgotten that."

"Well, head out again when you feel like it. I'll be here to collect your next kill."

"You got it!" Freddy exclaimed cheerfully. Just then, he thrust out his hand down low for Kyubey. "Put it there, partner!"

"We are not partners," Kyubey stated. "I hired you and gave you my power. You only do as I tell you, therefore, you are my subordinate."

Freddy withdrew his hand and grumbled to himself. "Huh, I guess you're right about that." A smile returned to his face as he thrust out his hand again.

"Put it there, boss!"

Kyubey blinked. "I suppose that is better." He lifted his little paw and slapped Freddy a low five.

"Yeah!" Freddy shouted with zeal. "Alright! I'm off to see more children!" He headed back for his tear to the dream realm with a merry pep still in his step. He continued to hum "Singing in the Rain" on his way out.


	5. Homura's World

A familiar angry beeping pierced Homura's ears, and therefore her slumber. She sat up in her bed, then reached over and pressed down on the button on her alarm clock, silencing the screeching instantly.

Another peaceful evening night of resting easily. She had been getting many nights like this the past couple of months. The alarm clock read 7:00 am, as always. It was time to get ready for school. The sun was already peeking up over the skyscrapers.

Homura slipped out of her covers and walked over towards the bathroom for a nice hot shower.

After the shower, the usual bathroom routine: she would brush her teeth, brush her flowing black hair, and then use her soul gem to adjust her heart and eyes, and lastly tie the red ribbon in her hair.

Before she walked out of the bathroom, would take another second to look at the familiar face in the mirror, to look at Akemi Homura.

Her eyes would then wander to the side to small drawing of Madoka she had drawn herself. It was not a very good drawing in Homura's opinion, only reminiscent of the few art classes Homura had taken. Still, it was the closest she had to seeing Madoka's face every day. Seeing that face was always exactly what Homura needed to start the day right, to keep her hopes up, remind herself that one day the two of them would be together again.

She lifted two fingers to her lips, and kissed them, then gently placed the fingers against Madoka's lips in the drawing.

She dressed and ate breakfast before heading out of the apartment. It was the same apartment that her parents had purchased for her while she attended Mitakihara Middle School; the same one she did all of her magical girl work in. She had always lived alone here.

Somedays the quiet lonely atmosphere would get to her. Other days, she was content with being alone with her own thoughts. Sometimes those thoughts would be about Madoka, sometimes they were about fighting wraiths with Mami and Kyoko, sometimes about homework and school.

She had promised herself and Madoka that she would continue fighting to protect Mitakihara from the darkness brought by wraiths until the day her soul gem fully darkened, and Madoka would come for her. Despite wanting nothing more than to be taken away and to be with Madoka again, Homura still had plenty of fight left in her, and she intended to wait it out as long as she could before the gem darkened.

She still kept to herself often though, rarely speaking to any other students at school, not joining any clubs or sports or anything. She even kept her distance from Mami and Kyoko somewhat. She once tried opening up to them by telling them about Madoka, and insisting she was real, but of course, just like Kyubey, they did not believe her. They had no way of knowing the truth.

It was Friday morning; they had worked overtime the night before to clear out wraiths so the three of them could go to the movies that night, though they have not decided on what movie specifically. Homura would be lying if she said she was not looking forward to it at all.

She walked through the streets of Mitakihara via the sidewalk, school bag in hand. It was another bright sunny day. She would stare blankly ahead as cars would drive past her, and other people would walk past her on their way to wherever they were going, going about their own business. Some of these people were rushing, but Homura felt no need to rush anything.

Sometimes Kyubey would pop up somewhere on her commute for some idle chat. Today was not one of those days, as it turned out. The white beast never showed his face that morning.

Before long, Homura came to the crossing where she would usually run into Mami and Kyoko, and the three of them would walk to school together.

"Ah man!" Kyoko huffed happily with a stretch. "How'd you sleep last night, Homura?"

"I slept well. Thank you," Homura replied curtly.

"The two of us slept like rocks!" Kyoko continued. "The maisma was pretty freaking tough last night! I had to get up early to finish my homework!"

"And surprisingly, you got it done!" Mami added. "Well done."

"Whatdoyamean surprisingly?" Kyoko huffed.

"You're right," Mami shrugged. "Perhaps that was a bit too harsh. I meant I was impressed. It show's you're getting better at balancing your school life with your magical girl life."

A smile returned to Kyoko's face. "Yep. Seriously though Mami, how do you manage to balance both so easily?"

"It's not easy, I'm sure you've noticed," Mami answered. "I guess you just figure out a routine that works best for you. You seem to work better if you wait to the last minute, it seems. You prefer to work in the morning as oppose to at night like me usually."

"Not that there's anything wrong with that, right?"

"Well, as long as you get decent grades I suppose not."

Kyoko took her pocky box from her pocket and took out a stick for herself. She offered one to Homura and Mami, and they each took a piece. Kyoko then turned to Homura.

"Were you able to get it all done, Homura?" She asked.

"Yes, I was able to get that essay done."

"Way to go, girl!" Kyoko slapped Homura on the back. "And hey, this weekend sometime, wanna maybe get together and study for that geography test we got next week?"

"Sure," Homura replied, "I may as well. I have been struggling with that a little myself."

"Super!" Kyoko squeaked.

It had been a little over a month now since Sayaka had been defeated and taken away by the Law of Cycles. Homura knew that Kyoko had feelings for the bluenette, just as she did in every timeline. About a week ago, Kyoko had finally gotten over Sayaka's death. And just like Homura was for Madoka, Kyoko was looking forward to the day when the Law of Cycles would take her so she could be with Sayaka again.

In the meantime though, Kyoko was more than happy to remain here on Earth with Mami. The two had long amended their past disagreements and happily reestablished their friendship. Since then, Kyoko had left Kazamino to stay with Mami in her apartment, and started attending Mitakihara Middle School.

This was good for Mami too. Kyoko was there now to fill the lonely void she had been suffering in for so long. Both were happy, and so Homura was happy for them.

The three of them continued towards school, chatting up a storm. Mami and Kyoko did most of the talking, Homura only speaking when the other two asked her a question. All things considered from the previous timelines, she still had a difficult time opening up to them, especially since trying to tell them about Madoka did not work. Still, they both acted very warm and approachable around her. Homura knew they both wanted her to open up to them more, but for some reason, it was still hard for her.

They would pass by the gardens and the stream that Homura knew Madoka would always take with her friends. A few familiar faces would pass by as other students would make their way along the sidewalk or up the steps or through the garden towards the massive school house.

One of these familiar faces was Kirika Kure, another magical girl with short black hair. She would always walk through the gardens with her girlfriend and magical girl partner, Oriko Mikuni. The two of them would be walking side by side and holding hands. Although Oriko's private school was farther away, her classes were later so she often had time to walk Kirika to school. Homura knew the two were very happy together. At the edge of the garden, the couple would hug and kiss goodbye as Kirika head up towards the school and Oriko headed back the way she came to catch the bus for her own school.

By now, the sun was shining brightly in the sky, gleaming off the stream and the glass of the schoolhouse.

Once the trio had entered the front door, Mami would head off down one hallway towards her own class, leaving Homura and Kyoko to head to their own class with Ms. Saotome. Kyoko snickered and made a joke about in what way Saotome would bash men that day. Homura would force a chuckle.

They arrived at the classroom and took their seats about ten minutes before the morning bell. Most other students would be up and about, talking and laughing with each other or copying each others homework and notes.

Soon enough, Hitomi Shizuki would walk into class, accompanied by her boyfriend, Kyousuke Kamijou. His had a different homeroom, but he was more than happy to walk his girlfriend to class.

Apparently in this timeline, from what Homura had observed, Sayaka and Hitomi were both best friends since kindergarten, just as in other timelines, only without Madoka this time. Kyousuke was a dear friend to them too. Sayaka wished to heal his arm just as always. Hitomi ended up being with him as usual. Sayaka apparently took it better in this timeline, and was happy to make her two good friends happy, even though she herself could not be with him.

Just like in most timelines, it was Mami who got Sayaka into the magical girl business. There was some rivalry between Sayaka and Kyoko. Apparently the day Sayaka died was when the tension between the two eased up. Sayaka may even have returned Kyoko's feelings for her. In the end though, it did not matter that much. Sayaka was gone. There was no use in dwelling on things that no longer mattered.

Both Hitomi and Kyousuke took it hard when Sayaka "died." They both had a harder time moving on than Kyoko and Mami did. Eventually, practically the day before in fact, the two found the strength in them to move on.

She would walk past Homura and Kyoko on her way to her seat. She had become a distant friend of the trio since Mami and Kyoko would be "hanging out" with Sayaka so much.

Finally, the bell would ring its familiar booming jingle, and all students would sit down quietly in their seats and take out their laptops and notebooks as Ms. Saotome walked into class. She would give off some morning announcements of no particular interest to Homura, and perhaps rattle about her last breakup as Homura took out her own notebook and a pen.

This was the usual morning for Homura Akemi. This was the world she was still fighting to protect. She often grew tired of this droll routine. This life had practically no meaning to her. Madoka was not in this world, and without Madoka, absolutely nothing seemed to keep her attached to the this world or these people. And every day she had to remind herself that someday Madoka would come for her, and they would be together for all eternity. All she had to do was wait for that day. But each day seemed to be more and more of a strain on her patience.

Well, perhaps this world was not the most horrible thing in the world. She lived a relatively normal and happy life, plus fighting wraiths, and despite the distance she kept, Mami and Kyoko were pretty good friends and she appreciated their company usually.

She reminded herself yet again that the best she could do was make the most of her situation and press on. She may as well play the role she was set to play in this world, as if she were in a play. She lifted her pen and prepared to take notes.

_It will come,_ Homura kept telling herself. _It will come. She will come. _

"So class," Ms. Saotome said after taking another deep breath, "today, we are going to talk about R.E.M. sleep."


End file.
